Where Immortals Once Walked

In truth, Juju knew very well that unless this cave abode was broken open by force, only the person designated by Venerable Muling could enter.

That alone was enough to make it take this seriously.

That old fellow Muling had always had a few real tricks up his sleeve. Someone he had set his hopes on might be worth expecting something from.

He Lingchuan continued, “If I can break the array eye, I’ll need you to strike Star-Plucking Tower and help me seize the treasure. What do you say?”

The heavenly gods’ wrath was no small matter. Would Juju be willing to bear it?

Sure enough, the rock-fire aberrant creature sank into thought.

It was different from He Lingchuan. Once He Lingchuan finished causing trouble, he could pat his backside and leave. Juju, however, could not leave Mount Xu. It still had to live alongside Lingxu City for a long time to come.

Once the Grand Spirit-Gathering Array was broken, its relationship with Lingxu City would plunge straight to freezing point.

As if hearing what was in its heart, He Lingchuan said, “Breaking this array would only be returning things to how they were ten-odd years ago. Back then, without the array binding you, was your life so terrible? You were still the mighty Juju. What could Lingxu City do to you? Instead, look at you now. Lingxu City has bound your hands and feet with the Grand Spirit-Gathering Array, leaving you hungry one meal and barely feeding you the next, and your strength is steadily weakening. In a few more years, even without the array suppressing you, you may be reduced to nothing but a little flame.”

In the end, Juju’s relationship with Lingxu City depended on its strength.

The stronger it was, the friendlier Lingxu City would be toward it.

“Besides, wasn’t Lingxu City the one that deceived you first?” He Lingchuan’s words were like a devil whispering into the ear. “Don’t you want revenge?”

The giant bear formed of rock and fire smacked its lips. “Fine. If you can destroy the array eye, I’ll help you seize the divine object in Star-Plucking Tower. This way, we mutually benefit.”

Inwardly, however, it sneered. If it truly escaped, then from that point on, it could do whatever it wanted. First, it would kick this little thing aside, then settle accounts with the Heavenly Palace!

So long as it broke free of the Grand Spirit-Gathering Array’s suppression, it would not be so easy for Lingxu City to deal with it.

“I need information.” He Lingchuan thought for a moment. “You should know the construction of the array better than anyone. Tell me everything you know about the defenses and arrays around Star-Plucking Tower and the array eye.”

“You don’t know?” So he came here empty-handed, trying to get something for nothing? “You don’t even know the details, and you still want to break the array eye?”

He Lingchuan said evenly, “The construction of the Grand Spirit-Gathering Array is still a top secret. I’ve questioned participants and insiders, but I can only piece together a rough outline. For an operation this important, shouldn’t I verify things with you again and again?”

Mm, that makes sense. Juju fell silent.

Next, He Lingchuan asked questions, and Juju filled in the details.

Most of this corresponded with the information extracted from Zaifu Kua, but Juju added many finer points.

Everyone knew the devil hid in the details.

For He Lingchuan, the more detail he had, the better.

He also asked Juju, “If you smash Star-Plucking Tower, will the heavenly gods personally descend to deal with you?”

“Descend?” Juju snorted. “The barrier between the two realms is strict. How could a heavenly god’s true body descend? At most, it would be divine descent!”

“When the Grand Spirit-Gathering Array’s core was installed, I heard the gods personally acted against you?”

“That was divine descent!” Juju said loudly. “The primary god Lingxu descended directly into a vessel prepared in advance and could use part of his true body’s power. However, the loss in a process like that is enormous. If he mobilizes ten parts of strength, nine parts are wasted during projection, and less than one part can truly be put into battle.”

He Lingchuan was moved. “The loss is that severe?”

“You think laws are something to play with?” Juju immediately grew suspicious. “Hm? You want to destroy the array eye, yet you don’t even know this much common sense?”

“I don’t know much about the gods.” He Lingchuan quickly changed the subject. “Even if I can release you, what if you get suppressed by the heavenly gods again in the blink of an eye? Wouldn’t all my effort be wasted?”

Juju was dismissive. “Hmph, wishful thinking! The Heavenly Palace has enjoyed peace for too long. If they have to act in haste, how could they be my match? Besides, even if reinforcements keep coming afterward, I only need to hide underground. What can they do to me then?”

Once the Grand Spirit-Gathering Array was broken, it could simply shrink back into the depths. The Heavenly Palace? The heavenly gods? How would they attack it there?

He Lingchuan could not help but laugh. Compared with Juju’s strength, this was probably what troubled the heavenly gods even more.

He Lingchuan said curiously, “I heard that a vessel for divine descent is difficult to choose.”

“Of course. It must possess outstanding talent, and its physique or cultivation must far exceed ordinary people’s, only then can someone barely bear a divine descent. Otherwise, the moment the heavenly god descends, the body collapses.” Juju said, “And different gods have different requirements for vessels. If they wield strong influence in the mortal realm, they will deliberately cultivate and reserve vessels for future use.”

“And these so-called vessels are living people.”

“Obviously!” Juju’s bear eyes widened. “How would you use a dead person’s body?”

“Even with a vessel prepared, the heavenly gods won’t descend unless absolutely necessary. Human bodies today are frail. A god borrowing a human body to fight is like carrying porcelain in both hands while brawling with an opponent. Bumps and cracks are inevitable. Use even a little too much strength, and it shatters!” Juju answered in great detail this time. “Cultivating a vessel is not so easy. I heard that after Lingxu’s last vessel was damaged, he still hasn’t found a new usable one. Add in the enormous energy cost of divine descent, and gods are not willing to do it unless they must.”

Divine Majesty Lingxu’s last descent had been to battle this creature. Even Lingxu City’s greater monsters could not subdue Juju. If the heavenly gods wanted to suppress it in the mortal realm, it was not easy either.

Ten years had passed, yet with all Beijia’s capabilities, they still had not found a suitable new vessel for His Divine Majesty Lingxu.

This showed just how difficult choosing a body for divine descent was.

Of course, in that instant, He Lingchuan thought of Panlong City, and of Zhong Shengguang’s daughter, whom he had sacrificed.

If choosing a human vessel for a god was so difficult, then how had Zhong Shengguang’s beloved daughter, Zhong Wuhan, managed to bear Mitian’s descent again and again?

Is it because Mitian’s power was far inferior to Divine Majesty Lingxu, and therefore less destructive to the vessel?

Or is it...

Connected to Generous Pot?

“A vessel’s capacity is also related to the amount of divine energy, right?”

“Obviously.” Juju sat back, sitting on the surface of the magma without sinking, though the entire pool splashed with waves. “Those lower-level gods have weaker divine energy, so it is easier for them to find compatible vessels. In the Middle Era, I also heard that the heavenly gods had a method of partial descent.”

“Partial descent?”

“Mm-hm. If they truly had no suitable vessel, they could split off an even smaller portion of power and temporarily descend into a random body. But what they could do would be greatly limited, and they still needed to make an agreement with the other party beforehand.”

“Make an agreement beforehand?” He Lingchuan immediately thought of Nian Songyu. Had the god behind State Preceptor Sun Fuping persuaded Nian Zanli to accept a partial descent? “Then can the person descended upon survive afterward?”

“Perhaps. I don’t know.” Juju spread its two claws. Did it look like it cared about human lives?

Hearing this, He Lingchuan’s thoughts stirred. “What if there is no agreement, and a god forcibly invades a human’s sea of consciousness?”

“No agreement?” Juju rejected it outright. “Impossible! No matter what form divine descent takes, permission must be granted. Even gods cannot overstep the laws!”

“How is it impossible?” He Lingchuan retorted. “I know Miaozhantian has done it more than once, barging into someone’s mind without consent.”

“Miaozhantian?” Juju also knew this god. “By invasion, you mean she used the balance?”

“That’s right, and not only her. Countless gods followed along.”

“Miaozhantian’s divine balance is famous! Strictly speaking, that is not called invasion, but borrowing the power of the balance to judge a human soul. However, no matter whether the final verdict is right or wrong, she cannot directly kill the human soul. Once judgment is complete, she must leave.” Juju said, “The boundary of law is not a single line, but a broad gray zone. Miaozhantian’s trick walks along the edge of the law. But to use it in the mortal realm, the cost is also extremely high.”

“What if, during judgment, some other god watching from the side suddenly wants to seize the human body?”

“Then it must still obtain the vessel’s consent! And that kind of behavior would also damage Miaozhantian, who is currently casting the spell. Although she is a proper god with vast magical energy, she would certainly dislike such needless complications!”

He Lingchuan recalled the process of his own judgment. At the end, that unknown god had wanted to act, and Miaozhantian had sharply rebuked it.

“By the way, who is Naluotian?”

“Never heard of him!” Juju grew impatient. “For Muling’s sake, I’ve answered this many questions. Now it’s your turn to show sincerity!”

It had patiently said so much, all of it “high-end conversation” that ordinary cultivators could never touch. One could say it had shown ample sincerity.

If He Lingchuan wanted to cooperate with it, he ought to offer something in return.

The puppet raised its hand and threw the sack into the magma pool. With a hiss, a plume of black smoke rose from the pool.

“That’s it?” The sack was, of course, immediately burned away, but Juju had only eaten a few pieces of spirit-surging ore. The amount was nowhere near enough to even wedge between its teeth. “Who are you trying to fool?”

“What’s the rush? After meeting with you, I need to go back and plan in detail.” He Lingchuan remained calm. “We’ll stay in contact.”

“You think you can leave just like that?” The rock-fire aberrant creature slammed a fist onto the ground, and the whole cavern shook. “Where are my offerings?”

This fellow wanted to cooperate with it, yet had only brought a few dozen kilograms of ore to meet it?

The furious magma overflowed onto the ground and rolled toward the puppet.

“It doesn’t matter. This is only a puppet.” He Lingchuan said indifferently, “Burn it or eat it as you like. But if you do, I won’t come again. You can stay here and be the gods’ obedient watchdog, waiting for the scraps in your bowl to grow fewer and fewer.”

The red-hot magma was about to reach the puppet’s feet, yet the puppet stood still, expressionless.

A mere mortal like this would melt the moment he was touched.

He Lingchuan was perfectly unruffled.

When the magma was still half a meter from the living man, it stopped.

Its surface trembled constantly, but in the end, it did not advance even another inch.

It seems that Headmaster Xu Shichu of Shumin Academy was right. Dealing with an intelligent creature really does save a lot of effort.

It could calculate gains and losses, and it could control its temper.

The puppet under He Lingchuan’s control immediately said, “You can form avatars, right? Give me one, so we can stay in contact.”